by V. A. Lewis
The middle aged man drew in a deep breath.
"It’s just that I wanted to apologize. At that moment I last saw her, I felt… afraid. I shouldn’t have been. But I was. And I know whatever amount of fear I felt, is nothing compared to what she must have felt then."
No one responded.
Feri looked at Theodore, and he understood how the older man felt. He owed his life to Melas, but—
Truth be told, Feri knew very little about heretics and magic. He was a slave, and he didn’t learn too much about it. But he knew enough to know that they were scorned and feared. Feri himself did not find himself afraid of Melas when she used magic. But he was confused and shocked. And that was enough to help drive the little girl away.
So at this moment, all of them felt regret.
"We’ll be passing Boleria tomorrow. When we do, we have to prepare for a fight. We don’t know if they’ll send an army to attack us. But we have to do this if we want our freedom! To leave the Free Lands!"
Em shouted the last words, and there was a cheer. Feri turned around as the crowd dispersed, and he along with it.
The former gladiator was the de facto leader of the now over ten thousand freed slaves, so everyone listened to her. Everyone was setting up camp, as they had just stopped for the day. Feri was not going hunting today so he was in the camp alone. Well, not alone. There was Em. He could always talk to her. But they weren’t that close. And this was around the time she went out patrolling.
There was also Theodore. But the older man would have reminded Feri of Melas. So the former slave did not like talking to him if not necessary.
So Feri just wandered the camp. Aimlessly. But happily.
The former slave was enjoying his relative freedom. One might say this situation was not ideal, but he’s been through far worse. In fact, he thought this was rather relaxing. That was until someone called out to him.
"Feri!"
The young man did not turn around. He continued walking through the camp.
"Feri, please don’t ignore me. We haven’t spoken in weeks."
It was the voice of an older man. Not Theodore. But someone Feri knew very well. One of two.
Feri jerked when an arm grabbed him.
"Feri. I’ve raised you since you were young. Why are you doing this to me?"
At that, the young man turned around. He stopped to stare at the old man before him. His hair was graying, and his body withered. Feri took a deep breath, then spoke to the man for the first time in a while.
"Paul," the young man said sharply. "What do you want?"
"Feri, please. Why are you speaking to me like that— you used to look up to me. Me and John. We took you in when you were brought from the mines to the city. When you were a child! And now John’s dead, and you won’t even talk to me."
"You know what you did. You betrayed us."
"Please, Feri. I did it for your own sake. If you had been caught, they would have killed you!"
Feri stared at the man. He couldn’t believe it. He still thought he was right! Feri stopped himself from shouting, and spoke calmly.
"We wouldn’t have been caught if it wasn’t for you."
"You don’t know that." Paul met the younger man’s eyes challengingly. "You have not seen what I’ve seen. Too many people have died doing foolish things. You would’ve been one of them."
Feri felt the anger boiling inside of him. He was just about to snap at his former parental figure, when there was a cry for help.
Someone at the edge of the camp screamed, and people began to run.
"Monster attack!" a shout came from the distance.
Feri was just about to turn and run away from the shouts, when Paul tried to pull the younger man.
"We’ve got to move! If the Monster gets to us—" The older man tugged at Feri.
Feri blinked, and stopped. "No," the former slave spoke defiantly. He was free now. He could choose for himself. Perhaps it was a little bit foolish. And perhaps it was in the heat of the moment. But the young man turned around, and ran to the screaming.
"Feri—"
The former slave ran through a crowd of people, screaming and fleeing from the scene. He quickly stopped to grab a knife next to a campfire, then continued his run. Feri turned around a tent and saw—
A large cat. About the same size as a tiger. But instead of black stripes on orange fur, it had gray-needle like fur all throughout. And it also had long protruding fangs from the mouth even when closed. But those were not its most distinctive features. It had a horn.
It was a Horned Panther.
Feri froze as the realization sank in. The young man locked eyes with the Monster. It was cornering an injured man and a little girl, but perked up at the new arrival.
The Horned Panther looked uncertainly at Feri, but when he did not move, it slowly limped forwards to the crying girl and her father. Was it injured? Feri broke out of the thought, and quickly took a step forward. It’ll kill them.
"Stop!" the young man ordered, as if the Monster could understand him.
Of course, it did not stop. It did not understand him. But it did understand loud noises, and the sudden movement together with the shout was perceived as a threat.
The Horned Panther snapped its head towards Feri’s direction. It bent down, then leapt forward to the young man. Feri saw it coming, and rolled out of the way from pounce.
The young man had just got back up, when a tail came swinging at him. The Monster’s tail struck him across the chest. He collapsed to the ground, and the Horned Panther was over him in a second.
The Horned Panther pressed its paw on the man’s chest, holding him down. It snarled at Feri, saliva drooling out of the Monster’s mouth. Feri raised his hand, and stabbed it in the eye.
The Monster recoiled, blood splattered on the ground, and the dagger went flying. It loosened its grip on Feri for a moment, and he slid out from under its paws. The young man scrambled for his only weapon, but the Horned Panther spun.
This time, Feri saw it coming, and he ducked under the tail. He picked up his dagger, and was backing up. But he was too close. The Horned Panther looked like it was about to pounce on him—
And a stick of fire came flying at it.
The Horned Panther flinched as the fire landed on its side. It never would have hurt the Monster. But it was hot. And it came from the side with the injured eye. So it only felt the heat and reacted.
The Monster spun around, scanning around with its one good eye, and it saw a man. An older man. And he was holding sticks of firewood, sticking it into a campfire, and hurling it at the Horned Panther.
It was Paul. And he was yelling at Feri.
"Run!"
The young man backed up, and readied himself for an attack. But it never came.
The Horned Panther kept getting pelted with sticks of fire. And it was getting annoyed. It pounced at the older man, closing 20 feet in a single jump.
Feri felt his heart drop as he watched it happen. "No—" the words left his mouth, but there was nothing he could do. He was not fast enough. Paul was going to die. The Horned Panther opened its mouth to bite at the struggling man—
And a figure dashed forward. Fast. Like a hidden tiger grabbing its prey.
The figure jumped on the back of the Horned Panther. It grabbed the Monster’s open mouth and held it open. The Horned Panther struggled and began pawing at its back but it was no use.
"Nn, get outta here!" Rin shouted at the downed man.
Paul turned and ran as the Cat Beastkin continued wrestling with the Monster.
"Bad kitty!"
The catgirl clawed at the Monster’s remaining good eye, and it shrieked. The Horned Panther fell on its back, trying to crush Rin, but the young woman just spun around its neck.
The two of them rolled on the ground, both trying to stay on top of the other. The Horned Panther was strong, but Rin was too nimble. Every time the Monster tried to pin the Cat Beastkin, she managed to wiggle her wa
y out of its grasps.
The catgirl held onto the Horned Panther’s neck. She grappled with it, maintaining this pseudo-headlock, and clawed its head back whenever it tried to bite her.
After a minute, Rin finally managed to get a proper grip while on its back. The Cat Beastkin grabbed tight as the Horned Panther tried to shake it off, but it was too late. She dug her claws into the Monster’s neck, clasping tightly, then she twisted.
A snap echoed through the camp, and the Horned Panther collapsed. Dead.
The young woman got off the back of the dead Monster, then sprawled herself on the floor.
"Whew. That was tiring." She wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead, then turned to face Feri. "Nn, I’m back by the way. Got some food!" Rin pointed at a bag of meat dropped by a tent.
Feri looked at the meat, then back to Rin. He was wide eyed. He knew the young woman was amazing, but this? He was speechless. He did not even know what to say. But someone else did.
"Thank you." The man who was originally attacked limped up to the catgirl. He was still injured, and was being supported by his wife and daughter. Even still, he bowed his head deeply. "Thank you— thank you so much. I owe you my life."
The father started to tear up, and his family cried with him. They kept thanking Rin, as Feri just watched the heartfelt moment happen. And the young man realized something.
He put a hand to his chest, then looked at his palm. He stared at it for a while, before he was snapped back to reality by a gruff voice.
"Hrn, it’s a good thing that you did. But you need to be more careful. If Rin did not show up in time, you and that other man would have died." Shang rested a hand on Feri’s shoulders, and Dawa was right behind the Dog Beastkin.
"When did you guys get back?"
"Eh, we just did. But we heard what happened. It’s a good thing Rin ran back to the camp ahead of us because she was hungry. You know how she is."
The young man nodded. Then he stared back at Rin, as she puffed her chest with pride as more people came and thanked her.
"You guys are so… amazing. You bring food to share, and you save the lives of others. I— how do you guys do it?"
"Well, we believe that we should treat others the way we want to be treated. Only by doing good, can you die great."
"I see." Feri felt the words sink in, and he realized there was something he needed to do. But Shang was not done talking.
"Plus—" the Dog Beastkin heaved a sigh. "Plus, we want to help out as much as we can. Before we leave."
Feri was broken out of his thoughts. His head snapped up, and he met Shang’s gaze, then Dawa’s, and knew they were telling the truth.
"Leave? When—"
"After we leave Besha. Once we pass by Boleria, when we exit Besha, we’ll be going southwest."
The former slave opened his mouth to say something, but Dawa spoke over him.
"I told you, didn’t I? The Rem Republic does not have a Hunters Guild. And this group will be heading straight south to Rem to get out of the Free Lands as soon as possible. We’ll be out of a job there. So we’ll be splitting away, to head to Elios first. Plus it’s the last country we were in. So we’re just returning back to where we started."
Feri looked at the two Beastkin, and saw that there was no changing their minds. He stood in silence for a moment, then nodded.
"I understand."
Shang breathed a sigh of relief, glad that there was no arguing over it. But he froze when he heard what Feri had to say next.
"I’m coming with."
"What?!" both Beastkin said in unison.
"I said I’m coming with. I’ve got nothing else to do, and I’ve been thinking for a while. I want to be a Hunter. Plus, I like you guys."
"But it’s dangerous—"
"You can’t—"
"Sounds good to me!" a third voice spoke over the first two.
Rin was standing behind Feri, and grinning to herself. "Nn, I don’t see a problem with it. All of us started out not knowing how to fight. And Feri can learn."
"But—"
"He stood against a Horned Panther and didn’t back down. Sure, it was injured. And sure, he’d have died if I didn’t save him. But he has what it takes to be a Hunter."
Shang sighed, exasperated. He turned away from Rin, then gazed deeply into the young man’s eyes.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes." There was no pause. No uncertainty. The former slave spoke without missing a beat.
"Fine. But don’t do anything reckless, got it?" Shang finally gave in.
Feri felt his lips curl up into a smile, and he felt happy. He was going to be a Hunter! I’m going to—
"Yay! Welcome Feri!"
Rin broke out in a cheer, and the young man blinked. The catgirl threw her arms around Feri, and he felt something… soft.
He looked at Rin, really stared at her. At the young woman. Realized she was hugging him. Then his face turned red.
The next day, the group of over ten thousand slaves passed by Boleria without a problem. They crossed through the border of Besha, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they made it one step closer to freedom.
There were still 600 miles of the Free Lands filled with cities and towns of slavers ahead of them. But leaving Besha was a sign of progress.
It was a reprieve, even if a brief one. And so everyone was happy. Feri looked around at all the smiling faces as they stopped to make camp, but he did not find the face he was looking for. He wandered around a bit, searching, before he finally found him.
Paul was riding in the back of a wagon. The older man was struggling to get off, when Feri approached him and put out a hand.
"Thank you—" Pauled looked up and blinked. "Feri?"
Feri gestured at his outstretched hand, and the older man took it.
"I should be the one thanking you," Feri said, his gaze unwavering.
"Oh, for yesterday? It wasn't a problem," Paul said as he dusted himself off. "I just thought you needed some of this old man’s help. That’s all."
"No. Not that." Feri shook his head. "Thank you for everything. All you’ve done for me. You and John. And I’m sorry for the way I treated you for the last few weeks. But I have to say it: thank you."
"You’re… welcome?." The older man blinked. Confused. Not sure what was going on.
The former slaves stood there, together. In silence for a moment. Feri enjoying it. Relishing in it. Trying to prolong it. But the moment had to end. So Feri spoke again.
"Thank you for everything. But you’re free now. You can find your own happiness. Your own joy. And not live for the sake of others anymore. You don’t have to live for my sake anymore."
The meaning of what the young man said slowly sunk in. And Paul sputtered. He cried and clasped at the young man’s hands. But the young man still continued.
"I’m free too. And I’m going to find my own calling. Going to do what I want. And so should you. After all you’ve been through— you deserve it. And John too… if he was here."
The old man met Feri’s gaze. His face pleading. And both their eyes were wet with tears.
"Will I ever see you again?"
Feri hesitated. He looked at Paul. At the sad old man, and he wanted to lie to him. But he did not.
"I— maybe." The former slave shook his head. "But not anytime soon. If we ever do meet, it will be years from now."
"I see." Paul’s voice shook. It spoke of grief. And he looked tired and weary.
But there was something in Paul’s look that spoke to the young man. It almost looked like… light. As if a spark had been lit inside of him, and a new fire burned within him. But light most new flames, it was still small. It’s light weak. Yet, it could grow.
"May the Goddess illuminate our lives."
Paul let go of the young man. The boy he raised. And the slave he protected. Then he walked away from Feri, as the younger man watched.
Later that evening, four people left the large encampment set outs
ide of Besha. There were three Beastkin, one human. Three men, one woman. Four Hunters, and zero slaves.
They bade their farewells, and said their goodbyes, leaving behind the hundreds of gold coins-worth corpse of the Horned Panther with Em, then set out on their own journey. A dangerous trek to safety. But it was a path a Hunter was used to.
And more than that, it was a path full of arguments.
"I’m bored! I’m sleepy! I’m hungry! Are we there yet?"
"Shut up, Rin."
"Both of you, shut up! You’ve been at it for an hour!"
Feri watched his companions as they argued, and he smiled.
Part Three: Reality
Reality
Chapter 24: Begging and Stealing
A brown hare sat on a rock, its ears pointed up, and it’s small bushy tail pressed against the stone. It was an innocent creature; a herbivore that never harmed another conscious living thing in its life. But that did not matter to me— not at this moment, at least.
I raised one hand up, and pointed a finger at the animal. A yellow circle of light briefly shone on my fingertips, and a bolt of fire came flying out at the hare. It looked up, saw the firebolt coming at it, and nimbly hopped out of the way.
The magical flames splashed on the surface of the rock, falling onto and lighting up the grass around it. I tried to follow the small brown animal, my fingers trailing after it, but it was too fast; it ran around a tree, through some tall grass, and into a bush. Then it was gone.
I stared at the undergrowth the hare fled into, then back to the rock surrounded by a small fire. I lowered my hand slowly, and heaved a sigh; I stomped over to the growing flames, and stamped it out.
I was annoyed. Hares were annoyingly fast— in fact, most animals were annoyingly fast. Turns out, when you’re evolutionarily conditioned to be a prey, you become very good at running away. I sighed.
I remembered back on Earth, whenever my dad brought me hunting (I might be a girl, but I was an only child, so he had to make do with me) and I just got bored. I should’ve paid more attention!
I loved my dad back in my world, I really did; but I did not enjoy hunting. I much preferred spending our quality time together doing something else he liked— like fishing, which was much more relaxing— but he wanted some variety. So he taught me how to hunt, but I didn’t really listen. And now...